Vekoma being pointed to Forego after Met Mile score

ELMONT, N.Y. – When George Weaver first came to New York in 1991 to work for D. Wayne Lukas, one race he made sure to witness in person was the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap. Regardless if he had a horse in the race or not, Weaver said he would watch the Met Mile from the platform just outside the Belmont Park winner’s circle.

“That’s one of my favorite races,” Weaver said. “It’s crazy cool that I had a horse good enough to win it.”

Weaver trains Vekoma, who was crazy good Saturday in recording a front-running, 1 1/4-length victory in the Runhappy Met Mile. His final time of 1:32.88 was the fourth-fastest Met Mile in 127 runnings. The third-fastest time belongs to Honour and Glory, who Weaver saddled to victory for Lukas in the 1996 Met Mile.

Weaver said he watched a replay of Honour and Glory’s race last week and marveled at how John Velazquez sat quiet aboard Honour and Glory who dueled on the lead with Afternoon Deelites. He surrendered the lead to Lite the Fuse before re-rallying to win.

Weaver felt Javier Castellano rode Vekoma similarly in that he sat quiet on the horse while being able to dictate the pace and then had something left with which to finish to record the victory.

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“I don’t think Javier went all in until he needed to,” Weaver said.

The victory in the Met Mile earned Vekoma entrance into the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Vekoma’s victory in the Grade 1 Carter on June 6 at Belmont earned him a guaranteed spot in the $2 million BC Sprint at six furlongs on the same card.

Weaver said as of Sunday he would be leaning toward pointing Vekoma to the Dirt Mile, with Vekoma’s next start most likely coming in the Grade 1 Forego going seven furlongs on Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

“Based on the fact that his asset is his ability to carry his speed over some distance, I’d have to say we’d be leaning that way,” Weaver said. “If we wanted to try the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, I’d likely try to fit in a six or 6 1/2-furlong race. I’m confident he can do anything six to seven to a mile to a mile and an eighth.”

Since this year’s Breeders’ Cup is at Keeneland, the Dirt Mile would be run around two turns. Fortunately, Vekoma’s lone win around two turns came in last year’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Keeneland.

Vekoma, who earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for the Met Mile, vanned from Belmont to Saratoga on Sunday morning.

“He got off the van pretty happy with himself,” Weaver said. “He looked good in the flesh, he’s a happy horse, he knows how good he is.”

Network Effect, who finished second to Vekoma in both the Carter and the Met Mile, is likely to try him again in the Forego, trainer Chad Brown said after the race. Brown also could point Complexity, a winner of a Friday allowance race, to the Forego.

“I’d rather point more than one horse to the race and if they both end up there that’s great,” Brown said.

Code of Honor, who was third in the Met Mile, could be a candidate for the Grade 1 Whitney going 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 1 at Saratoga.